US20050004520A1 - Low-noise vacuum release suction device and controllable aspirator using same - Google Patents
Low-noise vacuum release suction device and controllable aspirator using same Download PDFInfo
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- US20050004520A1 US20050004520A1 US10/880,845 US88084504A US2005004520A1 US 20050004520 A1 US20050004520 A1 US 20050004520A1 US 88084504 A US88084504 A US 88084504A US 2005004520 A1 US2005004520 A1 US 2005004520A1
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- inlet
- recited
- suction device
- suction
- aspirator
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61C—DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE
- A61C17/00—Devices for cleaning, polishing, rinsing or drying teeth, teeth cavities or prostheses; Saliva removers; Dental appliances for receiving spittle
- A61C17/06—Saliva removers; Accessories therefor
- A61C17/12—Control devices, e.g. for suction
- A61C17/13—Control devices, e.g. for suction with manually operated valves
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61C—DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE
- A61C17/00—Devices for cleaning, polishing, rinsing or drying teeth, teeth cavities or prostheses; Saliva removers; Dental appliances for receiving spittle
- A61C17/06—Saliva removers; Accessories therefor
- A61C17/08—Aspiration nozzles
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
- A61M1/00—Suction or pumping devices for medical purposes; Devices for carrying-off, for treatment of, or for carrying-over, body-liquids; Drainage systems
- A61M1/71—Suction drainage systems
- A61M1/74—Suction control
- A61M1/741—Suction control with means for varying suction manually
- A61M1/7411—Suction control with means for varying suction manually by changing the size of a vent
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
- A61M2205/00—General characteristics of the apparatus
- A61M2205/42—Reducing noise
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
- A61M2206/00—Characteristics of a physical parameter; associated device therefor
- A61M2206/10—Flow characteristics
- A61M2206/11—Laminar flow
Definitions
- the present invention generally relates to a suction device. More specifically, the present invention is concerned with a low noise vacuum release suction device and controllable aspirator using same.
- Aspirators connecting a vacuum source to a nozzle having a hollow tip are widely used in a plurality of professional fields and, namely, in the medical field.
- aspirators are used by dentists or hygienists and dental assistants for aspirating saliva, blood, water and debris from the patient's mouth during a treatment or surgery.
- the aspirating tool and the user thereof have to deal with opposite concerns in such an application.
- the vacuum release vent is generally an auxiliary bypass orifice, smaller than the main suction port, provided along the aspirating line, which enables penetration of air into the suction line with some restriction when air intake is obstructed at the main port, thus preventing vacuum inrush and water hammer effects.
- the aspirator 100 includes a body 103 provided with two bypass orifices 101 , 102 and terminated at its upstream end by a portion 105 provided with a main inlet bore 107 connected to a suction tip 106 , and at its downstream end by an outlet portion 104 for connection to a vacuum hose.
- a fluid stream 108 typically containing air, body fluids and solid debris, is created in the main inlet 107 .
- air from the surrounding atmosphere enters the body 103 through orifices 101 , 102 and merges with the main stream 108 to exit the device at outlet 104 as mixed fluid stream 109 .
- vented medical aspirators are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,637 (Whitehouse et al.—June 1995), U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,802 (Whitehouse et al.—April 1996), U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,929 (Laabs et al.—August 1996) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,733 (Laabs et al.—October 1999).
- the Grab FreeTM is a device 100 which includes a plurality of tiny elongated bypass ports 111 , 112 in the solid body 113 .
- the body 113 includes an outlet portion 114 and an inlet portion 115 with a lip 116 for insertion of a removable suction tip.
- the main fluid which flows from the suction tip enters the main inlet 117 which has a constant cross-section port up to the outlet of the device.
- air is drawn through the bypass ports and merges smoothly with the main flow due to the acute angle of incidence. Therefore, fluid streams follow smooth paths and merge as combined flow 119 at the outlet of the device with minimal separation, turbulence and resonance, leading to a significantly reduced noise level.
- this device provides fixed vacuum compensation and does not allow the user to block one or more of bypass ports 111 , 112 to control the aspiration rate at the tip.
- the weight of the solid metal body 113 at the downstream end of the device 110 adds to that of the vacuum hose and connector to create a moment of rotation about the user's wrist, yielding physical fatigue and discomfort of the user, to compensate the lift of the aspiration tip.
- Suction control is indeed a desirable feature in aspirators used in dentistry as well as in many medical fields related to surgery, in lipectomy surgery or draining of wound fluids for instance.
- One may thereby avoid subjecting delicate tissues to too strong a suction force while properly performing aspiration of specific matters as needed. Therefore, some aspirator systems of the prior art justify and describe suction control or regulator devices of two types.
- a venting port of relatively small effective area can selectively be either left open to provide a definite level of suction or blocked by a sleeve or a finger to momentarily increase suction, or vice versa.
- FIG. 6 The published patent application by Schultz, which is illustrated in FIG. 6 , teaches a hand-held medical component which is provided with a wide elongated port for regulating suction.
- Suction is provided from a device which comprises a body 123 with an inlet portion 125 and an outlet portion 124 for connection to a vacuum source.
- the device is further provided with a large opening and relatively large throat bypass inlet penetrating the body up to the inner chamber 122 .
- the large elongated opening of the bypass inlet 121 is so designed as to enable a user to control the suction rate at the inlet of suction tube 126 by selectively blocking a variable portion of said opening with a finger.
- the main fluid stream 128 rapidly expands and separates when passing from the inlet 125 to the chamber 122 of much larger cross-sectional area.
- the pressure compensating air flow penetrating the chamber from inlet 121 experiences separation and turbulence due to the orthogonal incidence when merging into the main stream and to the sharp edges present at the interface.
- the main and bypass flows could not merge to form an outlet fluid stream 129 without generating a highly noisy acoustic emission tuned according to the dimensions of chamber 122 and because of the resonant cavity yielding flow separation, turbulence, acoustic amplification and, consequently, intense irritating noise.
- suction control bypass devices and controlled aspirating devices are contemplated in the prior art, these devices are nevertheless lacking important features necessary for them to provide adequate control of aspiration rate as required in medical applications for instance, while generating low level minimally annoying noise.
- An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a low-noise aspiration control port and an aspirator using same.
- a suction device for an aspirator connectable to a vacuum source, the suction device including a body including an external surface, an inlet port located at a first end of the body, an outlet port located at a second end of the body, a chamber extending inside the body from the inlet port to the outlet port along a longitudinal axis, the chamber defining a flow direction from the inlet port to the outlet port, the suction device further including a bypass inlet diverging through the body from the external surface to the chamber generally along the flow direction.
- a suction device for an aspirator connectable to a vacuum source, the suction device including a body including an external surface, an inlet port located at a first end of the body, an outlet port located at a second end of the body, a chamber defined by a diverging portion from the inlet port to a junction position and a converging portion from the junction position to the outlet port, a bypass inlet extending through the body from the external surface in the vicinity of the inlet port to the chamber in the vicinity of the junction position.
- a suction device for an aspirator connectable to a vacuum source
- the suction device including a body including an external surface, an inlet port provided in the vicinity of a first end of the body, an outlet port provided in the vicinity of a second end of the body, a chamber extending inside the body from the inlet port to the outlet port along a longitudinal axis, the chamber defining a flow direction from the inlet port to the outlet port, the suction device further including a bypass inlet extending through the body from an elongated aperture on the external surface to the chamber and at an acute angle with respect to the flow direction.
- a suction system for an aspirator connectable to a vacuum source including a suction device including a body including an external surface, an inlet port located at a first end of the body, an outlet port located at a second end of the body, a chamber extending inside the body from the inlet port to the outlet port along a longitudinal axis, the chamber defining a flow direction from the inlet port to the outlet port, the suction device further including a bypass inlet extending through the body at an acute angle with respect to the flow direction from an outer aperture on the external surface of the body to an inner aperture in the chamber, the suction system further including a control means operatively mounted over the outer aperture for blocking the bypass inlet, whereby upon operation of the vacuum source sealingly mounted to the outlet port, a first suction force is generated at the inlet port and a second suction force is generated at the bypass inlet, the first suction force being variable upon actuation of the control means.
- an aspirator connectable to a vacuum source for aspiring particles and or fluids
- a suction device including a body including an external surface, an inlet port located at a first end of the body, an outlet port located at a second end of the body, a chamber extending in the body along a longitudinal axis from the inlet port to the outlet port, and a bypass inlet diverging through the body from the external surface to the chamber, whereby upon operation of the vacuum source sealingly mounted to the outlet port, a first suction flow is generated at the inlet port and a second suction flow is generated at the bypass inlet such that the first suction flow and the second suction flow combine in the chamber near the inner aperture.
- vacuum source is to be construed herein and in the appended claims as a system which is independently capable of generating a negative pressure inducing a suction flow or an aspiration line in the vicinity of the system, while in operation.
- FIG. 1 is a top view of the suction device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along line 2 - 2 of FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 3 is a detail view of a bypass inlet taken from enclosure 3 - 3 of FIG. 2 ;
- FIG. 4 which is labeled “prior art”, is a longitudinal cross sectional view showing a first prior art suction device
- FIG. 5 which is labeled “prior art”, is a longitudinal cross sectional view showing a second prior art suction device
- FIG. 6 which is labeled “prior art”, is a longitudinal cross sectional view showing a third prior art suction device
- FIG. 7 is a top view showing an outer aperture contour of the suction device of FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 8 is a table including the contour parameters of the outer aperture shown in FIG. 7 ;
- FIG. 9 is a detail view of a lip contour taken from enclosure 9 - 9 of FIG. 3 ;
- FIG. 10 is a table including the contour parameters of the lip of FIG. 9 ;
- FIG. 11 is a top view of an aspirator equipped with a suction device according to the present invention.
- FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view taken along line 12 - 12 of FIG. 11 ;
- FIG. 13 is an isometric exploded view of the aspirator of FIG. 11 ;
- FIG. 14 is a partial isometric view of the suction device included in the aspirator of FIG. 11 ;
- FIG. 15 is a partial isometric view of the tool adapter included in the aspirator shown of FIG. 11 ;
- FIG. 16 is a comparative chart representing the noise level generated by the suction device of the present invention and by three suction devices of the prior art.
- the present invention relates to a vacuum release or suction device 20 , as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 , for controlling the suction rate in an aspiration line with minimal generated aerodynamic noise.
- the invention further relates to a hand-held aspirator of the type used for medical purposes, such as for aspirating body fluids from a patient, saliva, water, blood and debris from a patient's mouth during a dental treatment or surgery, for example.
- the contemplated aspirator may be controllable and is provided with a low noise suction device 20 of the present invention.
- FIGS. 4 to 6 Examples of prior art aspirators having suction capabilities are illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6 .
- the device 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
- the device 20 has a body 22 including a first end or main inlet portion 24 and a second end or main outlet portion 26 .
- the main inlet portion 24 has an inlet port 28 which is so configured as to be mounted to an aspirating tool and may comprise a ridge 30 , a groove (not shown) retaining a “O” ring seal member (not shown), or another positive coupling mechanism to attach tooling or extension tubing in a substantially fluid tight manner.
- the main outlet portion 26 has an outlet port 32 which is so configured as to be mounted to a vacuum source (not shown).
- the body 22 of the device further includes a chamber 34 which is provided between the inlet port 28 and the outlet port 32 ; and a bypass inlet 36 which generally extends through the body 22 , such that it connects or opens the chamber 34 to the atmosphere.
- the chamber 34 is made of two generally frusto-conical portions 38 , 40 , such that the cross-sectional area of the chamber 34 gradually increases from the inlet port 28 to the vicinity of the bypass inlet 36 and then gradually decreases toward the outlet port 32 .
- This arrangement favors a smooth merge of a generally quasi laminar main flow 42 entering the inlet port 28 and a bypass flow 44 entering the bypass inlet 36 to constitute a combined outlet stream 45 .
- the first generally smooth and diverging frusto-conical portion 38 extends from the vicinity of inlet port 28 and generally up to the vicinity of the connection of the chamber 34 with the bypass inlet 36 , therefore providing a gradual increase of the cross-sectional area of the chamber 34 .
- This arrangement generally provides some velocity reduction of the main flow 42 , while minimizing the risks of sudden changes of flow direction and thus turbulence, particularly in the region of the bypass inlet 36 and to promote the merging of both flows 42 , 44 in laminar or nearly laminar conditions.
- the second generally smooth and converging frusto-conical portion 40 extends from the vicinity of the connection of the chamber 34 with the bypass inlet 36 to the vicinity of the outlet port 32 .
- the ramping angle ⁇ i of the inlet frusto-conical portion 38 is advantageously selected between about 2 and about 7 degrees, with a preferred value of about 3.5 degrees with respect to chamber 34 longitudinal axis 46 , while the ramping angle ⁇ o of the outlet portion 40 is advantageously selected between about 3 and about 10 degrees, with a preferred value of about 7 degrees.
- the bypass inlet 36 which extends through the body 22 of the device 20 , generally includes a lower ramp or surface 48 , an upper ramp or surface 50 , an outer aperture 52 and an inner aperture 54 .
- the bypass inlet 36 also includes a lip 56 near the outer aperture 52 and may adopt various configurations as it extends through the body 22 .
- FIGS. 1, 2 , 3 , 7 and 8 One example illustrating an extending configuration for a bypass inlet 36 is shown in FIGS. 1, 2 , 3 , 7 and 8 .
- This configuration is inspired from a profile known in the field of aeronautics as a “NACA inlet”, which has been specifically developed and optimized by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, predecessor of the modern day NASA, to enable air flow to enter a body with minimal flow separation and turbulence. Reader may refer to NACA's research memorandum entitled “An Experimental Investigation of the Design Variables for NACA Submerged Duct Entrances” By Mossman et al. (Jan. 8, 1948) for a detailed teaching of the subject. This document is included herein by reference in its entirety.
- the outer aperture 52 of the bypass inlet 36 has a shape or contour which is generally flush with outside surface of the body 22 and the bypass inlet 36 is generally submerged in the body 22 .
- the contour of the outer aperture 52 is shown in FIG. 7 and may be defined according to the table of coordinates provided in FIG. 8 , for example.
- the outer aperture 52 generally includes a narrow end 58 of width W1 at its upstream end (nearer to the inlet portion 24 of the device 20 ) and a wide end 60 of width W2 forming the lip 56 at its opposite downstream end (nearer to the outlet portion 26 of the device 20 ).
- Ends 58 and 60 are generally connected by curvilinear lateral edges 62 , 64 which are being defined in the Table of FIG. 8 , given the width of the outer aperture 52 at given values of longitudinal position x.
- the edges 62 , 64 can also be approximated by linear edges, forming a nearly triangular inlet.
- the overall length L of the outer aperture 52 is generally larger than width W2, which is larger than W1.
- W1 generally ranges from about 0 to about 20 millimeters, with a preferred value of about 0.8 millimeters
- W2 generally ranges from about 5 millimeters to about 25 millimeters with a preferred value of about 10 millimeters
- the length L generally ranges from about 10 millimeters to about 50 millimeters, with a preferred value of about 30 millimeters.
- the lower ramp 48 and the upper ramp 50 respectively form an angle ⁇ L and an angle ⁇ U ranging from about 3 degrees to about 10 degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis 46 of the chamber 34 , with a preferred value of about 7 degrees.
- Ramps 48 , 50 may be substantially parallel (about same angle ⁇ L and ⁇ U), or may slightly diverge toward the inner aperture 54 .
- the lower ramp 48 and the upper ramp 50 of the bypass inlet 36 may be spaced by a distance ranging from about 1 to a bout 5 millimeters, with a preferred value of about 2.65 millimeters, as measured on a transversal axis (not shown) which is generally orthogonal to the longitudinal axis 46 of the chamber 34 .
- the lip 56 is designed to provide a smooth transition from the external surface of the body 22 to the bypass inlet 36 in order to minimize airflow separation and resulting turbulence.
- bypass inlet 52 is so configured as to provide minimum flow separation and turbulence as required to reduce the generated aero-acoustic noise.
- the vacuum source of the suction device 20 while in operation creates a negative pressure, i.e. suction, at the outlet port 32 , which in turn causes main flow 42 and bypass flow 44 to be drawn respectively from the main inlet port 28 and the bypass inlet 36 to merge at a junction position 54 a near the inner aperture 54 , to constitute the combined outlet stream 45 .
- the bypass flow 44 is generally constituted from surrounding atmospheric air while main flow 42 may comprise a mixture of air, gases, liquids and solid matters to be extracted from a location using a suction tool to be connected to inlet portion 24 .
- the flows of fluid through main inlet port 28 and bypass inlet 36 are generally a function of the applied vacuum intensity and of the resistance to flow resulting from each inlet/bore characteristics.
- One of the characteristics determining flows of fluid is the effective cross-section and duct length of the inlet ports 28 , 36 . Therefore, for given characteristics of the main inlet port 28 and suction tooling connected thereto, such as for example a rotary adapter and suction tip (not shown), modifying the effective area of the outer aperture 52 of the bypass inlet 36 modifies suction, i.e. flow and maximum pressure at the main inlet port 28 .
- the area of the outer aperture 52 is thus designed to define minimum desired values for the flow and pressure at the main inlet port 28 .
- a user may also merely block a portion of the relatively large bypass inlet aperture 52 with a finger or alternatively, using a sliding sleeve (not shown) to continuously control suction between a minimum and a maximum value.
- a sliding sleeve (not shown) may be useful to minimize direct contact of the user's gloved skin with the fluid and matters flowing through the device 20 , which could present risks of contamination or injury, although the current design of the preferred embodiment advantageously minimizes such contact.
- the device 20 which was described hereinabove may be used in a variety of applications, such as for example in a dentistry aspirator to extract debris along with water, saliva, blood and air from a patient's mouth. Such an embodiment is illustrated at FIGS. 11 through 15 .
- the low-noise suction device or aspirator 70 includes a central portion 72 including a low-noise vacuum release or suction device 20 as described above.
- the main outlet portion 26 may include a female configuration which may be connected to a removable male adapter 74 .
- the male adapter 74 may be selected to be mounted to a variety of vacuum hoses, valves or other connection devices (not shown). Press-fit assembly or “O” rings 75 a co-operating with grooves 75 b may be contemplated to provide a substantially fluid tight connection.
- a tool adapter 76 which is provided with an angular tool holding inlet portion 90 , is assembled over the main inlet portion 24 for rotation about the longitudinal axis of the aspirator 70 .
- An indexing mechanism as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 , such as for example mating notches and ridges located on surfaces 80 and 82 of the aspirator 70 and tool adapter 76 respectively, are provided to positively set and maintain the angular position of the tool adapter 76 to a user selected comfortable position.
- a fluid tight rotary joint using “O” rings or ridges (not shown) on the main inlet portion 24 with or without mating grooves (not shown) inside the bore of the tool adapter 76 may alternatively be used, without any step indexing mechanism, in order to enable continuous full 360 degrees rotation of the tool adapter 76 about the aspirator 70 longitudinal axis.
- a hollow suction tip 84 comprising an inlet 86 and an outlet 88 is removably inserted in the inlet 90 of the angular tool holding portion 78 .
- the user may use one's thumb 92 to vary the effective area of the bypass inlet 36 to modify suction at the inlet 86 of suction tip 84 .
- part of the volume between the outer shell of the tool adapter 76 and its central bore is filled with a dense material such as for example a stainless steel bushing 94 , to increase the weight at the fore end of the aspirator 70 , thus improving balance and reducing stress and fatigue in the user's wrist by causing a displacement of the centre of gravity of the aspirator 70 .
- the angle ⁇ of orientation of the tool holding portion 78 with respect to a longitudinal axis of the aspirator 70 is generally set between about 10 and about 45 degrees, with a preferred value of about 30 degrees.
- the tool adapter 76 may be further provided with a revolving means (not shown), for adjusting the angular orientation of the suction tip 84 about the longitudinal axis of the aspirator 70 .
- a suction force ranging from about 35 to about 70 grams at tip inlet 86 is considered most desirable when the outer aperture 52 of the bypass inlet 36 is fully open, with a preferred value of about 70 grams.
- the maximum suction force generated by the aspirator 70 in the fully closed bypass inlet configuration is about 180 grams with about 250 millimeters Hg suction pressure applied to the aspirator 70 . This is achieved with a suction inlet cross-section of about 47 square millimeters at tip inlet 86 and a bypass cross-sectional area of about 27 square millimeters at inner aperture 54 . Accordingly, dimensions of the external bypass aperture 52 of an exemplary device are as follows:
- radius of curvature r at the entrance of the lower ramp 48 should be between about 2 millimeters and about 50 millimeters with a preferred value of about 7.5 millimeters.
- FIG. 16 provides a graphical comparison of the various levels of noise generated by the use of the three prior art aspirators which were shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 and by the prototype aspirator 70 including a suction device 20 of the present invention.
- the total acoustic power emitted by the prototype connected to a 250 millimeters Hg vacuum line through a US standard connection and with its bypass inlet 36 fully open, is about 5 db less than that of the Grab FreeTM aspirator in the same condition, 12 db less than the Tip-A-DillyTM aspirator in the same condition and 14 db less than the aspirator commercialized by the Siemens company with its European connection.
- the reader is reminded that a 5 db difference in acoustic power represents a reduction of more than 68% of the acoustic energy, and that a 10 db difference represents a 90% reduction of acoustic energy emission.
- the above described embodiments according to the present invention provide effective solutions for the reduction of noise in suction devices while providing the user with a wide range of suction control. Therefore, it can be seen that the low-noise vacuum release suction device and the controllable aspirator provided with such a suction device can be advantageously used in miscellaneous suction applications, and more particularly in dentistry, to reduce the stress experienced by the personnel due to noise.
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Abstract
Description
- The present invention generally relates to a suction device. More specifically, the present invention is concerned with a low noise vacuum release suction device and controllable aspirator using same.
- Aspirators connecting a vacuum source to a nozzle having a hollow tip are widely used in a plurality of professional fields and, namely, in the medical field. In dentistry, for instance, aspirators are used by dentists or hygienists and dental assistants for aspirating saliva, blood, water and debris from the patient's mouth during a treatment or surgery. The aspirating tool and the user thereof have to deal with opposite concerns in such an application.
- Firstly, all liquid, solid particles and aerosols must be extracted in an effective manner, due to the health hazards they represent. The risks for the patient and the medical personnel tend to increase with the increasing use of high technology materials such as polymers and composites yielding toxic resin vapours and microscopic particles of silicium, quartz etc. when shaped with rotary instruments, cut, abraded or polished. These materials are often used for replacing silver amalgam fillings which, when deposited mechanically, produce toxic mercury vapours. Therefore, relatively strong suction and heavy airflow are desirable. However, contact of the aspirator tip aperture with the tongue or other delicate mouth tissues tends to block airflow, yielding a rapid negative pressure increase firmly grabbing the tissue against the aperture, and causing discomfort and risks of injury for the patient and stress both for the patient and the medical personnel. For that type of reasons, a vacuum release vent is now often provided on medical aspirators.
- The vacuum release vent is generally an auxiliary bypass orifice, smaller than the main suction port, provided along the aspirating line, which enables penetration of air into the suction line with some restriction when air intake is obstructed at the main port, thus preventing vacuum inrush and water hammer effects. An early design of such a vented aspirator is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,516,160 issued to Leffler in June 1970, which introduces the Tip-A-Dilly
™ aspirator 100 illustrated inFIG. 4 of the appended drawings. Theaspirator 100 includes abody 103 provided with twobypass orifices portion 105 provided with amain inlet bore 107 connected to asuction tip 106, and at its downstream end by anoutlet portion 104 for connection to a vacuum hose. In operation, when vacuum is applied atoutlet 104, afluid stream 108, typically containing air, body fluids and solid debris, is created in themain inlet 107. At the same time, air from the surrounding atmosphere enters thebody 103 throughorifices main stream 108 to exit the device atoutlet 104 as mixedfluid stream 109. - Should the inlet of
tip 106 be blocked by contact with body tissues for instance, the thereby modified ratio between the tip inlet effective cross-section and that of thebypass orifices body 103 experiences turbulence due to rapid expansion at the inner side of the orifices and sharp edges at the interface between the inner chamber of thebody 103 and theoutlet portion 104. Turbulence creates acoustic waves tuned by the resonant cavity provided by the inner chamber, thus generating a hissing noise. - Other examples of such vented medical aspirators are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,637 (Whitehouse et al.—June 1995), U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,802 (Whitehouse et al.—April 1996), U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,929 (Laabs et al.—August 1996) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,733 (Laabs et al.—October 1999).
- Noise in medical aspirators, particularly dental aspirators used extensively and repeatedly by dentistry personnel, is recognized as a very significant problem. Indeed, it is a source of fatigue, stress accumulation and it represents a real risk of hearing acuity degradation for medical personnel. This noise problem has been specifically addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,952 issued to Solnit et al. in March 1993 which introduces the Grab Free™.
- As illustrated in
FIG. 5 , the Grab Free™ is adevice 100 which includes a plurality of tinyelongated bypass ports solid body 113. Thebody 113 includes anoutlet portion 114 and aninlet portion 115 with alip 116 for insertion of a removable suction tip. The main fluid which flows from the suction tip enters themain inlet 117 which has a constant cross-section port up to the outlet of the device. Upon clogging of the main inlet, air is drawn through the bypass ports and merges smoothly with the main flow due to the acute angle of incidence. Therefore, fluid streams follow smooth paths and merge as combinedflow 119 at the outlet of the device with minimal separation, turbulence and resonance, leading to a significantly reduced noise level. However, the concept of this device provides fixed vacuum compensation and does not allow the user to block one or more ofbypass ports solid metal body 113 at the downstream end of thedevice 110 adds to that of the vacuum hose and connector to create a moment of rotation about the user's wrist, yielding physical fatigue and discomfort of the user, to compensate the lift of the aspiration tip. - Suction control is indeed a desirable feature in aspirators used in dentistry as well as in many medical fields related to surgery, in lipectomy surgery or draining of wound fluids for instance. One may thereby avoid subjecting delicate tissues to too strong a suction force while properly performing aspiration of specific matters as needed. Therefore, some aspirator systems of the prior art justify and describe suction control or regulator devices of two types. In a first type, a venting port of relatively small effective area can selectively be either left open to provide a definite level of suction or blocked by a sleeve or a finger to momentarily increase suction, or vice versa. U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,542 (Russo—August 1985), U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,562 (Moore et al.—January 1999), U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,897 (Propp et al.—November 1999) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,516 (Phelan—April 2000), as well as Canadian patent No 2,042,523 (Nates—Oct. 1995) exemplify that first type of controlled vacuum aspirators.
- Fewer suction control devices of a second type are so designed to enable a user to continuously vary suction over a given range. Representative examples of aspirators implementing such suction control devices are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,220 (Hansen—September 1980), U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,300 (Williams—May 1991), U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,727 (Russo—March 1998), U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,884 (Cover et al.—May 1999) and US patent application No 2002/0108614A1 filed by Schultz in April 2002.
- The published patent application by Schultz, which is illustrated in
FIG. 6 , teaches a hand-held medical component which is provided with a wide elongated port for regulating suction. Suction is provided from a device which comprises abody 123 with aninlet portion 125 and anoutlet portion 124 for connection to a vacuum source. The device is further provided with a large opening and relatively large throat bypass inlet penetrating the body up to theinner chamber 122. The large elongated opening of thebypass inlet 121 is so designed as to enable a user to control the suction rate at the inlet ofsuction tube 126 by selectively blocking a variable portion of said opening with a finger. Although such a feature is highly desirable in many applications, noise with such a device is still a major problem which prevents its extensive use in applications such as dentistry. Indeed, the mainfluid stream 128 rapidly expands and separates when passing from theinlet 125 to thechamber 122 of much larger cross-sectional area. Similarly, the pressure compensating air flow penetrating the chamber frominlet 121, experiences separation and turbulence due to the orthogonal incidence when merging into the main stream and to the sharp edges present at the interface. Therefore, the main and bypass flows could not merge to form anoutlet fluid stream 129 without generating a highly noisy acoustic emission tuned according to the dimensions ofchamber 122 and because of the resonant cavity yielding flow separation, turbulence, acoustic amplification and, consequently, intense irritating noise. - With the exception of the Solnit Patent, all of the aforementioned patents have their bypass inlet extending straight through the outer wall of the aspirator body such that the incoming airflow substantially forms a right angle with respect to the fluid stream in the main bore of the device. Also, none of the auxiliary aperture shapes have been specifically designed in consideration of the aero-acoustic concerns for optimal merging of the bypass air flow from atmosphere with the main fluid stream, that is with minimal energy being dissipated and converted into sound waves, and minimal transfer of said sound waves to the surrounding work environment.
- Although the above examples show that some suction control bypass devices and controlled aspirating devices are contemplated in the prior art, these devices are nevertheless lacking important features necessary for them to provide adequate control of aspiration rate as required in medical applications for instance, while generating low level minimally annoying noise.
- It would therefore be a significant advance in the art of controlled suction aspirating devices to provide a low-noise suction control device and an aspirator using such a device, which can be advantageously controlled with a user's finger or sliding sleeve to provide a wide range of aspiration rates, while generating low and minimally annoying noise, according to preferred structures as contemplated in the present invention. It would also be desirable to provide an aspirator which enhances the physical comfort of a user through an ergonomic design providing weight balance and natural and adjustable tip angulations.
- An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a low-noise aspiration control port and an aspirator using same.
- More specifically, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a suction device for an aspirator connectable to a vacuum source, the suction device including a body including an external surface, an inlet port located at a first end of the body, an outlet port located at a second end of the body, a chamber extending inside the body from the inlet port to the outlet port along a longitudinal axis, the chamber defining a flow direction from the inlet port to the outlet port, the suction device further including a bypass inlet diverging through the body from the external surface to the chamber generally along the flow direction.
- There is furthermore provided a suction device for an aspirator connectable to a vacuum source, the suction device including a body including an external surface, an inlet port located at a first end of the body, an outlet port located at a second end of the body, a chamber defined by a diverging portion from the inlet port to a junction position and a converging portion from the junction position to the outlet port, a bypass inlet extending through the body from the external surface in the vicinity of the inlet port to the chamber in the vicinity of the junction position.
- There is furthermore provided a suction device for an aspirator connectable to a vacuum source, the suction device including a body including an external surface, an inlet port provided in the vicinity of a first end of the body, an outlet port provided in the vicinity of a second end of the body, a chamber extending inside the body from the inlet port to the outlet port along a longitudinal axis, the chamber defining a flow direction from the inlet port to the outlet port, the suction device further including a bypass inlet extending through the body from an elongated aperture on the external surface to the chamber and at an acute angle with respect to the flow direction.
- There is furthermore provided a suction system for an aspirator connectable to a vacuum source including a suction device including a body including an external surface, an inlet port located at a first end of the body, an outlet port located at a second end of the body, a chamber extending inside the body from the inlet port to the outlet port along a longitudinal axis, the chamber defining a flow direction from the inlet port to the outlet port, the suction device further including a bypass inlet extending through the body at an acute angle with respect to the flow direction from an outer aperture on the external surface of the body to an inner aperture in the chamber, the suction system further including a control means operatively mounted over the outer aperture for blocking the bypass inlet, whereby upon operation of the vacuum source sealingly mounted to the outlet port, a first suction force is generated at the inlet port and a second suction force is generated at the bypass inlet, the first suction force being variable upon actuation of the control means.
- There is furthermore provided an aspirator connectable to a vacuum source for aspiring particles and or fluids including a suction device including a body including an external surface, an inlet port located at a first end of the body, an outlet port located at a second end of the body, a chamber extending in the body along a longitudinal axis from the inlet port to the outlet port, and a bypass inlet diverging through the body from the external surface to the chamber, whereby upon operation of the vacuum source sealingly mounted to the outlet port, a first suction flow is generated at the inlet port and a second suction flow is generated at the bypass inlet such that the first suction flow and the second suction flow combine in the chamber near the inner aperture.
- It is to be noted that the expression vacuum source is to be construed herein and in the appended claims as a system which is independently capable of generating a negative pressure inducing a suction flow or an aspiration line in the vicinity of the system, while in operation.
- Other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following non-restrictive description of preferred embodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.
- In the appended drawings:
-
FIG. 1 is a top view of the suction device according to an embodiment of the present invention; -
FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along line 2-2 ofFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 3 is a detail view of a bypass inlet taken from enclosure 3-3 ofFIG. 2 ; -
FIG. 4 , which is labeled “prior art”, is a longitudinal cross sectional view showing a first prior art suction device; -
FIG. 5 , which is labeled “prior art”, is a longitudinal cross sectional view showing a second prior art suction device; -
FIG. 6 , which is labeled “prior art”, is a longitudinal cross sectional view showing a third prior art suction device; -
FIG. 7 is a top view showing an outer aperture contour of the suction device ofFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 8 is a table including the contour parameters of the outer aperture shown inFIG. 7 ; -
FIG. 9 is a detail view of a lip contour taken from enclosure 9-9 ofFIG. 3 ; -
FIG. 10 is a table including the contour parameters of the lip ofFIG. 9 ; -
FIG. 11 is a top view of an aspirator equipped with a suction device according to the present invention; -
FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view taken along line 12-12 ofFIG. 11 ; -
FIG. 13 is an isometric exploded view of the aspirator ofFIG. 11 ; -
FIG. 14 is a partial isometric view of the suction device included in the aspirator ofFIG. 11 ; -
FIG. 15 is a partial isometric view of the tool adapter included in the aspirator shown ofFIG. 11 ; and -
FIG. 16 is a comparative chart representing the noise level generated by the suction device of the present invention and by three suction devices of the prior art. - Generally stated, the present invention relates to a vacuum release or
suction device 20, as illustrated inFIGS. 1, 2 and 3, for controlling the suction rate in an aspiration line with minimal generated aerodynamic noise. The invention further relates to a hand-held aspirator of the type used for medical purposes, such as for aspirating body fluids from a patient, saliva, water, blood and debris from a patient's mouth during a dental treatment or surgery, for example. The contemplated aspirator may be controllable and is provided with a lownoise suction device 20 of the present invention. - Examples of prior art aspirators having suction capabilities are illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6.
- The
device 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. - The
device 20 has abody 22 including a first end ormain inlet portion 24 and a second end ormain outlet portion 26. Themain inlet portion 24 has aninlet port 28 which is so configured as to be mounted to an aspirating tool and may comprise aridge 30, a groove (not shown) retaining a “O” ring seal member (not shown), or another positive coupling mechanism to attach tooling or extension tubing in a substantially fluid tight manner. Themain outlet portion 26 has anoutlet port 32 which is so configured as to be mounted to a vacuum source (not shown). - The
body 22 of the device further includes achamber 34 which is provided between theinlet port 28 and theoutlet port 32; and abypass inlet 36 which generally extends through thebody 22, such that it connects or opens thechamber 34 to the atmosphere. - The
chamber 34 is made of two generally frusto-conical portions chamber 34 gradually increases from theinlet port 28 to the vicinity of thebypass inlet 36 and then gradually decreases toward theoutlet port 32. This arrangement favors a smooth merge of a generally quasi laminarmain flow 42 entering theinlet port 28 and abypass flow 44 entering thebypass inlet 36 to constitute a combinedoutlet stream 45. - The first generally smooth and diverging frusto-
conical portion 38 extends from the vicinity ofinlet port 28 and generally up to the vicinity of the connection of thechamber 34 with thebypass inlet 36, therefore providing a gradual increase of the cross-sectional area of thechamber 34. - This arrangement generally provides some velocity reduction of the
main flow 42, while minimizing the risks of sudden changes of flow direction and thus turbulence, particularly in the region of thebypass inlet 36 and to promote the merging of bothflows - The second generally smooth and converging frusto-
conical portion 40 extends from the vicinity of the connection of thechamber 34 with thebypass inlet 36 to the vicinity of theoutlet port 32. - The ramping angle θi of the inlet frusto-
conical portion 38 is advantageously selected between about 2 and about 7 degrees, with a preferred value of about 3.5 degrees with respect tochamber 34longitudinal axis 46, while the ramping angle θo of theoutlet portion 40 is advantageously selected between about 3 and about 10 degrees, with a preferred value of about 7 degrees. - As can be better seen from
FIG. 3 , thebypass inlet 36, which extends through thebody 22 of thedevice 20, generally includes a lower ramp orsurface 48, an upper ramp orsurface 50, anouter aperture 52 and aninner aperture 54. Thebypass inlet 36 also includes alip 56 near theouter aperture 52 and may adopt various configurations as it extends through thebody 22. - One example illustrating an extending configuration for a
bypass inlet 36 is shown inFIGS. 1, 2 , 3, 7 and 8. This configuration is inspired from a profile known in the field of aeronautics as a “NACA inlet”, which has been specifically developed and optimized by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, predecessor of the modern day NASA, to enable air flow to enter a body with minimal flow separation and turbulence. Reader may refer to NACA's research memorandum entitled “An Experimental Investigation of the Design Variables for NACA Submerged Duct Entrances” By Mossman et al. (Jan. 8, 1948) for a detailed teaching of the subject. This document is included herein by reference in its entirety. - In this configuration, the
outer aperture 52 of thebypass inlet 36 has a shape or contour which is generally flush with outside surface of thebody 22 and thebypass inlet 36 is generally submerged in thebody 22. The contour of theouter aperture 52 is shown inFIG. 7 and may be defined according to the table of coordinates provided inFIG. 8 , for example. - More specifically, as can be seen from
FIG. 7 , theouter aperture 52 generally includes anarrow end 58 of width W1 at its upstream end (nearer to theinlet portion 24 of the device 20) and awide end 60 of width W2 forming thelip 56 at its opposite downstream end (nearer to theoutlet portion 26 of the device 20). Ends 58 and 60 are generally connected by curvilinear lateral edges 62, 64 which are being defined in the Table ofFIG. 8 , given the width of theouter aperture 52 at given values of longitudinal position x. Theedges outer aperture 52 is generally larger than width W2, which is larger than W1. - W1 generally ranges from about 0 to about 20 millimeters, with a preferred value of about 0.8 millimeters, and W2 generally ranges from about 5 millimeters to about 25 millimeters with a preferred value of about 10 millimeters, and the length L generally ranges from about 10 millimeters to about 50 millimeters, with a preferred value of about 30 millimeters.
- Returning to
FIG. 3 , to direct the flow ofair 44 from thebypass inlet 36 toward the outlet ofchamber 34 with an acute incidence angle of about 3 to about 10 degrees, with a preferred value of about 7 degrees, thelower ramp 48 and theupper ramp 50 respectively form an angle αL and an angle αU ranging from about 3 degrees to about 10 degrees with respect to thelongitudinal axis 46 of thechamber 34, with a preferred value of about 7 degrees.Ramps inner aperture 54. Thelower ramp 48 and theupper ramp 50 of thebypass inlet 36 may be spaced by a distance ranging from about 1 to about 5 millimeters, with a preferred value of about 2.65 millimeters, as measured on a transversal axis (not shown) which is generally orthogonal to thelongitudinal axis 46 of thechamber 34. - Further, the
lip 56 is designed to provide a smooth transition from the external surface of thebody 22 to thebypass inlet 36 in order to minimize airflow separation and resulting turbulence. - A possible shape of the
lip 56 is illustrated inFIG. 9 and defined in the table ofFIG. 10 , wherein the values of the positions of the upper edge Yu and lower edge Yl are provided for given values of the longitudinal displacement x, as a function of d, which is the vertical distance between the upper and thelower ramps 48, 50 (FIG. 3 ) and which is calculated as follows from equation (A):
d=L tg α/[1.481−0.75 tg α] (A) -
- where α is the ramp angle (α=αL=αU) and L is the overall length of the
outer aperture 52, as illustrated inFIG. 7 . A smooth transition at the entrance oflower ramp 48 is also contemplated to prevent flow separation, such that the radius of curvature r shown inFIG. 3 should not be much smaller than about 5 millimeters.
- where α is the ramp angle (α=αL=αU) and L is the overall length of the
- The design of the
bypass inlet 52 is so configured as to provide minimum flow separation and turbulence as required to reduce the generated aero-acoustic noise. Turning back toFIG. 2 , the vacuum source of thesuction device 20 while in operation creates a negative pressure, i.e. suction, at theoutlet port 32, which in turn causesmain flow 42 andbypass flow 44 to be drawn respectively from themain inlet port 28 and thebypass inlet 36 to merge at ajunction position 54 a near theinner aperture 54, to constitute the combinedoutlet stream 45. Thebypass flow 44 is generally constituted from surrounding atmospheric air whilemain flow 42 may comprise a mixture of air, gases, liquids and solid matters to be extracted from a location using a suction tool to be connected toinlet portion 24. - The flows of fluid through
main inlet port 28 andbypass inlet 36 are generally a function of the applied vacuum intensity and of the resistance to flow resulting from each inlet/bore characteristics. One of the characteristics determining flows of fluid is the effective cross-section and duct length of theinlet ports main inlet port 28 and suction tooling connected thereto, such as for example a rotary adapter and suction tip (not shown), modifying the effective area of theouter aperture 52 of thebypass inlet 36 modifies suction, i.e. flow and maximum pressure at themain inlet port 28. The area of theouter aperture 52 is thus designed to define minimum desired values for the flow and pressure at themain inlet port 28. In use, it is possible for a user to partly or totally blockbypass inlet aperture 52, with a finger, with part of a hand, or with any other blocking element to increase suction to a desired value as necessary at any time of an operation. - A user may also merely block a portion of the relatively large
bypass inlet aperture 52 with a finger or alternatively, using a sliding sleeve (not shown) to continuously control suction between a minimum and a maximum value. The optional use of a sleeve (not shown) may be useful to minimize direct contact of the user's gloved skin with the fluid and matters flowing through thedevice 20, which could present risks of contamination or injury, although the current design of the preferred embodiment advantageously minimizes such contact. - The
device 20 which was described hereinabove may be used in a variety of applications, such as for example in a dentistry aspirator to extract debris along with water, saliva, blood and air from a patient's mouth. Such an embodiment is illustrated atFIGS. 11 through 15 . - The low-noise suction device or
aspirator 70 includes acentral portion 72 including a low-noise vacuum release orsuction device 20 as described above. Themain outlet portion 26 may include a female configuration which may be connected to a removablemale adapter 74. Themale adapter 74 may be selected to be mounted to a variety of vacuum hoses, valves or other connection devices (not shown). Press-fit assembly or “O” rings 75 a co-operating withgrooves 75 b may be contemplated to provide a substantially fluid tight connection. - At the fore (upstream) end of the
aspirator 70, atool adapter 76, which is provided with an angular tool holdinginlet portion 90, is assembled over themain inlet portion 24 for rotation about the longitudinal axis of theaspirator 70. An indexing mechanism, as shown inFIGS. 14 and 15 , such as for example mating notches and ridges located onsurfaces aspirator 70 andtool adapter 76 respectively, are provided to positively set and maintain the angular position of thetool adapter 76 to a user selected comfortable position. A fluid tight rotary joint using “O” rings or ridges (not shown) on themain inlet portion 24 with or without mating grooves (not shown) inside the bore of thetool adapter 76 may alternatively be used, without any step indexing mechanism, in order to enable continuous full 360 degrees rotation of thetool adapter 76 about theaspirator 70 longitudinal axis. Ahollow suction tip 84 comprising aninlet 86 and anoutlet 88 is removably inserted in theinlet 90 of the angulartool holding portion 78. - From
FIG. 12 , it can be seen that the user may use one'sthumb 92 to vary the effective area of thebypass inlet 36 to modify suction at theinlet 86 ofsuction tip 84. In addition, part of the volume between the outer shell of thetool adapter 76 and its central bore is filled with a dense material such as for example astainless steel bushing 94, to increase the weight at the fore end of theaspirator 70, thus improving balance and reducing stress and fatigue in the user's wrist by causing a displacement of the centre of gravity of theaspirator 70. - For dentistry applications, the angle φ of orientation of the
tool holding portion 78 with respect to a longitudinal axis of theaspirator 70 is generally set between about 10 and about 45 degrees, with a preferred value of about 30 degrees. Thetool adapter 76 may be further provided with a revolving means (not shown), for adjusting the angular orientation of thesuction tip 84 about the longitudinal axis of theaspirator 70. - In such an application, a suction force ranging from about 35 to about 70 grams at
tip inlet 86 is considered most desirable when theouter aperture 52 of thebypass inlet 36 is fully open, with a preferred value of about 70 grams. The maximum suction force generated by theaspirator 70 in the fully closed bypass inlet configuration is about 180 grams with about 250 millimeters Hg suction pressure applied to theaspirator 70. This is achieved with a suction inlet cross-section of about 47 square millimeters attip inlet 86 and a bypass cross-sectional area of about 27 square millimeters atinner aperture 54. Accordingly, dimensions of theexternal bypass aperture 52 of an exemplary device are as follows: -
- 10 millimeters<L<50 millimeters;
- 5 millimeters<W2<25 millimeters; and
- 0 millimeters<W1<20 millimeters.
- In an example, a prototype having the following dimensions was constructed, L=30 millimeters, W2=10 millimeters and W1=0.8 millimeters, leading to a calculated value of d=2.65 millimeters. To prevent flow separation, radius of curvature r at the entrance of the lower ramp 48 (see
FIG. 3 ) should be between about 2 millimeters and about 50 millimeters with a preferred value of about 7.5 millimeters. -
FIG. 16 provides a graphical comparison of the various levels of noise generated by the use of the three prior art aspirators which were shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 and by theprototype aspirator 70 including asuction device 20 of the present invention. As seen in this Figure, the total acoustic power emitted by the prototype, connected to a 250 millimeters Hg vacuum line through a US standard connection and with itsbypass inlet 36 fully open, is about 5 db less than that of the Grab Free™ aspirator in the same condition, 12 db less than the Tip-A-Dilly™ aspirator in the same condition and 14 db less than the aspirator commercialized by the Siemens company with its European connection. The reader is reminded that a 5 db difference in acoustic power represents a reduction of more than 68% of the acoustic energy, and that a 10 db difference represents a 90% reduction of acoustic energy emission. - In addition to these sonometric results, listening tests also revealed that the noise generated by the
aspirator 70 prototype was considered by listeners to be far less irritating due to its different spectral distribution especially in the 1000 Hz to 6000 Hz range. This is mainly due to the much lower intensity at higher frequencies of the audio spectrum, while the higher levels recorded in the lower end result in an almost pleasant humming type of noise. It has to be noted that medical research shows that the human ear is most sensitive to frequencies comprised in the high and shrill 1000 Hz to 6000 Hz range. - One can easily appreciate that the above described embodiments according to the present invention provide effective solutions for the reduction of noise in suction devices while providing the user with a wide range of suction control. Therefore, it can be seen that the low-noise vacuum release suction device and the controllable aspirator provided with such a suction device can be advantageously used in miscellaneous suction applications, and more particularly in dentistry, to reduce the stress experienced by the personnel due to noise.
- Although the present invention has been described hereinabove by way of preferred embodiments thereof, it can be modified, without departing from the spirit and nature of the subject invention as defined in the appended claims.
Claims (34)
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
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CA002433107A CA2433107A1 (en) | 2003-06-30 | 2003-06-30 | Low noise vacuum release device and controllable suction apparatus using same |
CA2,433,107 | 2003-06-30 |
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- 2004-06-29 JP JP2006515615A patent/JP2007504848A/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2004-06-29 CA CA2530188A patent/CA2530188C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
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US20100038170A1 (en) * | 2007-01-02 | 2010-02-18 | Marco Einhaus | Safety Harness With Femoral Vein Protection |
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US20090209972A1 (en) * | 2008-02-20 | 2009-08-20 | Loushin Michael K H | Ventilation Device and Insertion System Therefor |
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US10695224B2 (en) | 2012-06-15 | 2020-06-30 | Preceptis Medical, Inc. | Insertion system for deploying a ventilation device |
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US10532136B2 (en) * | 2013-04-22 | 2020-01-14 | Jason P. Adams | Noise-suppressing, suction probe apparatus and method |
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US10898660B2 (en) * | 2014-09-10 | 2021-01-26 | Fontem Holdings 1 B.V. | Methods and devices for modulating air flow in delivery devices |
US20170246405A1 (en) * | 2014-09-10 | 2017-08-31 | Martin Wensley | Methods and devices for modulating air flow in delivery devices |
US20160228137A1 (en) * | 2015-01-31 | 2016-08-11 | Robert J. Ripich | Tongue cleaning device |
US10188414B2 (en) * | 2015-01-31 | 2019-01-29 | Robert J. Ripich | Tongue cleaning device |
US11160948B2 (en) * | 2016-06-22 | 2021-11-02 | Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University | Nebulizer tubing with a port to minimize medicament loss |
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WO2018115409A1 (en) * | 2016-12-23 | 2018-06-28 | Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Stiftung Öffentlichen Rechts, Universitätsmedizin | Suction tip for the gentle suctioning of a biological fluid |
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US10952831B1 (en) * | 2020-05-25 | 2021-03-23 | Dürr Dental SE | Suction handpiece for a dental treatment unit |
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Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
JP2007504848A (en) | 2007-03-08 |
EP1651289A1 (en) | 2006-05-03 |
WO2005000380A1 (en) | 2005-01-06 |
CA2530188A1 (en) | 2005-01-06 |
US7306577B2 (en) | 2007-12-11 |
CA2433107A1 (en) | 2004-12-30 |
CA2530188C (en) | 2011-09-27 |
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